The American whiskey market is crowded with non-distilling producers who buy whiskey and launch it beneath their very own labels. For some, sourced inventory is a brief bridge whereas their very own distillate ages quietly within the background. Others haven’t any intention of ever firing up a nonetheless. Inside that latter group, the approaches differ broadly. A number of deal with mixing as a craft, shaping disparate barrels into one thing extra compelling than any single element. Others merely mix barrels, cross their fingers, and hope the end result passes muster.
On the outer fringe of this ecosystem sits a smaller, extra idiosyncratic class: the impartial bottler. Lengthy established in Scotch whisky and rum, impartial bottling has solely gained actual momentum in American whiskey over the previous decade. Impartial bottlers additionally work with sourced whiskey, but the expertise feels essentially totally different. There is no such thing as a formal rulebook defining what qualifies as an impartial bottler, however the distinction is intuitive. You acknowledge it if you encounter it.
These bottlers are inclined to accomplice with genuinely impartial distillers, normally operations far faraway from the commercial scale of Kentucky, Tennessee, or Indiana’s legacy giants. Though laws technically permit it, impartial bottlers who embrace that id hardly ever launch bourbon from producers like MGP, George Dickel, or Barton 1792. As an alternative, their focus typically lands on distilleries resembling J. Henry & Sons, Watershed, or Kozuba & Sons. Conventional sourced whiskey is regularly wonderful, however it’s typically wrapped in deliberate ambiguity, with branding positioned effectively forward of provenance. Impartial bottling flips that script. Transparency is central to the ethos, and the origin of the whiskey is supposed to be seen, not obscured.
There’s additionally a quiet competitors at play. Impartial bottlers regularly cross paths on the identical small distilleries, but every is locked in an unstated race to find and launch the subsequent neglected standout earlier than it enters wider public consciousness. When an impartial bottler commits to whiskey from a little-known producer, it’s typically a powerful sign that the distillery deserves nearer consideration.
Two Souls Spirits entered this area in 2021, based by James Estrada and Chad Civetti as an American impartial craft spirits bottler. In 2025, Estrada stepped away from the corporate, and Karen Gentry joined the operation. Two Souls focuses on single cask releases from standout impartial distillers throughout the US, all the time offered at cask energy. Past straight-from-the-barrel bottlings, the corporate often employs secondary maturation, reusing distinctive barrels from earlier Two Souls releases so as to add one other stage of character.
Drinkhacker obtained bottles of two 2025 releases for assessment: an 8-year-old Wisconsin Straight Bourbon generally known as “Highway’s Finish”, and a Double Barreled Straight Bourbon that includes Manifest Distilling, titled “Professional Bear Rasslin’.” Amongst those that have found it, Two Souls has earned a status for high quality. Even so, the model stays largely off the radar for a lot of whiskey fans.
The query now could be whether or not these new releases can push Two Souls past the realm of quiet admiration and into broader recognition. There is just one strategy to discover out. Let’s pour a glass and see the place the street leads.
Two Souls Wisconsin Straight Bourbon “Highway’s Finish” 8 Years Previous Overview
Situated in Dane, Wisconsin, J. Henry & Sons has made whiskey since 2009, although the Henry household farm itself dates again to 1946. Two Souls identifies this launch, Highway’s Finish, as Barrel No. JH2, whereas J. Henry & Sons information it as barrel #838. The bourbon is distilled from a mashbill of 60% heirloom crimson corn, 14% winter wheat, 14 % rye, and 12% malted barley, with each grain grown on the Henry household farm.
Fermentation takes place in open-top tanks for 4-5 days at comparatively cool temperatures within the mid-20s Celsius. Distillation is dealt with on two pot stills made by Karl in Germany, a smaller nonetheless for the spirit run and a bigger nonetheless for the stripping run. The distillate leaves the nonetheless between 150 and 160 proof and enters the barrel at 118 to 120 proof.
Growing older occurred in a Coopers Choose barrel from Impartial Stave Firm, that includes a medium toast and a #3 char. The barrel was constructed with staves seasoned outdoor for 18 months earlier than kiln-drying. It was stuffed on April 13, 2017, and bottled on Could 5, 2025, leading to a complete maturation of 8 years, 5 months, and a pair of days.
The title Highway’s Finish carries private weight. It marks the ultimate barrel bought collectively by Chad Civetti and James Estrada earlier than Civetti’s departure from Two Souls Spirits.
The aroma leads with chocolate milk, sanded drywall mud, and brown paper grocery sacks. With time within the glass, notes of unsweetened chai tea, cola residue, and dry white cake combine change into obvious. Wisconsin’s local weather makes its presence recognized, as oak and spice present themselves with little emphasis on sweetness. Primarily based on aroma alone, the bourbon suggests an age effectively past its said years.
The palate begins with soy sauce residue and graham cracker crumbs. Halfway by, thawed frozen strawberries and Honey Smacks cereal enter the image. The feel leans dry, with tannins that stay pleasurable reasonably than extreme. The closing moments introduce a short trace of contemporary mint, adopted by almond M&M’s. Because it fades, roasted candy potatoes and charred grill marks convey the expertise to a detailed.
It is a bottle I like, although it carries extra oak affect than I sometimes hunt down. For drinkers who respect a well-done oak-driven profile, this launch is more likely to impress, particularly provided that it clocks in at just below 8.5 years of age. The wooden affect is pronounced, but the tannins keep in stability with the encompassing flavors. Contemplating each proof and worth, it stands out as an ideal worth. 121 proof. A- / $95
Two Souls Double Barreled Bourbon “Professional Bear Rasslin’” 5 Years Previous Overview
This stands as probably the most uncommon and peculiar releases to floor from an American impartial bottler in 2025, and arguably probably the most attention-grabbing bottlings of the yr in any class. Professional Bear Rasslin’ is a joint effort between Two Souls Spirits and Manifest Distilling of Jacksonville, Florida. Two Souls notes that the barrel is tied to an “iconic” nationwide brewery, stopping in need of a direct disclosure, although the clues are something however delicate. The designation Barrel No. PBR1, mixed with the initials spelled out by Professional Bear Rasslin’, makes the affiliation tough to overlook.
The label states that the bourbon was distilled by an unnamed distillery in Michigan. Whereas Pabst Blue Ribbon beer originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is now brewed beneath contract at a number of services nationwide, Pabst Brewing partnered with New Holland Spirits in Holland, Michigan to launch Pabst Blue Ribbon Whiskey in 2019. Two Souls confirms that the mashbill right here consists of 52% corn, 27% malted barley, 17% wheat, and 4% rye, equivalent to the brazenly disclosed mashbill used for Pabst Blue Ribbon Whiskey.
Pabst Blue Ribbon Whiskey is described as being “aged for 5 seconds” in used cooperage, leaving it clear and ineligible for the bourbon designation. Proof right here means that a minimum of a portion of that very same distillate discovered its method into new charred oak, particularly a barrel with a #4 char and a barrel entry proof of 120. The barrel was stuffed at Manifest Distilling on January 15, 2020, then transferred to J. Henry & Sons in Dane, Wisconsin in February 2024 to proceed maturation. On Could 15, 2025, the bourbon was moved right into a secondary barrel that beforehand held Two Souls’ “Highway’s Finish” Wisconsin Straight Bourbon, with a barrel entry proof of 130. Barrel #20-0003 was bottled on September 26, 2025, after a complete maturation interval of 5 years, 8 months, and 11 days.
The aroma opens with brooding prune juice and a short word of tannic, burnt cardboard. That fleeting sharpness shortly offers strategy to spiced banana bread and blackstrap molasses. Provided that the spirit spent roughly 5 years in new oak earlier than the secondary cask, the affect of the ending barrel is unquestioned, but completely helpful. The bouquet carries weight from begin to end.
The palate begins with espresso and a beneficiant pour of cherry cola. Because the sip progresses, evenly sweetened Kix cereal and delicate tobacco make an look. The mouthfeel is dense and hefty, aligning completely with the focus of taste on show. The closing sequence introduces cream soda and intense darkish chocolate, adopted by Luxardo cherry syrup and gingerbread as the ultimate phrase.
I approached this bottle with some hesitation, formed by prior impressions of Pabst Blue Ribbon Whiskey as a transparent, underdeveloped spirit. Any such reservations proved completely misplaced. That is excellent bourbon by any measure. The expertise leaves me hoping that extra of this distillate has discovered its method into new charred oak, as a result of the outcomes converse for themselves. I’ve tasted many wonderful bourbons on this age vary, but few ship this stage of focus and persona. Releases like this spotlight precisely why impartial bottlers matter, and why their greatest work could be really distinctive. 130.4 proof. A / $80
Two Souls Double Barreled Bourbon “Professional Bear Rasslin'” 5 Years Previous
USD80
Visited 52 occasions, 52 go to(s) immediately
